Refrigerator



Aug 30, 1949. F. D. PELTIER 2,480,763

- REFRIGERATOR Filed Nov. 50, 1944 new.

IN V EN TOR.

FEM/c 0. Pa 7/5/2 BY H/S AGENT being provided with a gasket portion i9.

Patented Aug. 30, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR,

Frank D. Peltier, Jenkintown, Pa.., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Philco Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvan Application November 30, 1944, Serial No. 565,846

different temperature conditions is accomplished in an automatic manner, during the process of making certain structural rearrangements when changing from one operating. condition to the other.

To this general end the invention, in one aspect, contemplates the utilization of a, movable member adapted for differing positional adjustment in accordance with the desired type of operation and which, .by virtue of said positional adjustment effects corresponding variations in the temperature condition within the storage space.

The invention extends further to certain novel structural details and arrangements hereinafter described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig.- 1 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of a horizontal top-access refrigerator embodying the invention and taken along line II, Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view of the refrigerator, taken alongthe line 11-11, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the temperature control apparatus. Referring more particularly to the details of the drawing, wherein is illustrated one embodiment of the invention, the numeral l designates a horizontal top-access refrigerator comprising a cabinet I! having a closure lid or door l2. The cabinet H includes an outer shell is and an inner liner or tank It supported in spaced relation within said shell. The usual breaker strip I 6 of low thermal conductivity is providedbetween the inner rim ll of the shell and the rim iii of the liner, said breaker strip As shown, this supporting breaker strip is of the general type disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Theodore W. Rundell, Serial No. 516,475, filed December 31, 1943, now Patent No. 2,426,535, granted August 26, 1947.

Insulating material 20 fills the space between the outer shell l3 and the sides 2| and 2la of the inner liner l4, while additional insulating material 22 is supported beneath the bottom wall 23 of said liner by a horizontal partition or pan 10 Claims. (Cl. 622) 24, the edges of which are secured to outer shell l3, as by welding or other suitable means. The

pan forms the top wall of acompartment 25 within which is housed both the motor-compressor unit 26, which may be of the hermetically sealed type, and a refrigerant condenser 29.

The door, which may be attached, as by hinges (not shown) to the shell i3, is of the plug type and is formed with a projecting flange portion 30' which seats upon the upper periphery 3| of shell l3 and cooperates with gasket Hi to establish an air-tight and leak-proof joint between the door and the cabinet walls.

Positioned within one end portion of the inner liner adjacent the left transverse side wall 2| (Fig. 1) is the main body portion of an evaporator 33, which body portion is preferably formed in the conventional U-shaped"conflguration. The evaporator also includes several convolutions of tubing 34 attached in any convenient manner to the right transverse side wall M of the liner, as viewed in Fig. 1, which. tubing is connected to the evaporator by an extension 35 thereof which extends through the walls of the liner and the insulation 20. The evaporator, including the tubing 34 and 35', is connected in series flow circuit with the compressor 26 and condenser 29, the usual capillary tube 31 serving to conduct liquid refrigerant from the condenser to the evaporator, and a suction conduit 38 being provided, through which gaseous refrigerant passes from the evaporator back to the compressor. As will be apparent from the drawing, the compressed refrigerant flows from the compressor to the condenser through a conduit 36 perature zone, and is defined by the opposite walls M of the evaporator and portions of the opposed longitudinal side walls Na, of the liner. The compartment 40 provides the main food storage zone anad is defined by one wall M of the evaporator, the right transverse side-wall ii of inner liner it (as viewed in Fig. 1) and portions of the opposed longitudinal side-walls 25a of the liner.

In particular, accordance with the present invention a pair of baiiles and 5! are pivotally mounted upon the longitudinal side walls filo of the liner along horizontal axes, as indicated at 52-52, and as best seen in Fig. 2. These baffies may be moved about their pivotal axes between two terminal positions including the vertical position shown in full lines, in which each baflle is releasably held by a latching member' of the liner, said latter position being indicated in broken lines at 54. Since, as will be brought out more fully hereinafter, a primary purpose of the baffles is to reduce direct contact between the compartment air and the evaporator surfaces under one condition of operation, said baiiie may, if desired, be of metallic construction. However, it will be understood that the baiiles may also be of such a material as to provide a considerable impedance to the flow of heat therethrough, if desired.

Each bafiie is provided with a pair of opposed inwardly extending ear portions 55 and 56, located on the opposed side edges substantially in termediate the endsthereof and to which is pivotally mounted a shelf 51. These shelves are adapted to assume a horizontal position substantially at right angles to said baiiies, when the baffles are in their vertical position, and to fold into a horizontal position parallel to said baiiies and the floor 23 of the liner, when the baflies are lowered to the position adjacent the liner floor. To hold the shelves in the horizontal position, as illustrated in full lines on Fig. 1, each baiile is provided with support means comprising a pair of short supporting projections 58 (Fig. 2) which extend beneath the shelf when it is in the raised extended position illustrated. It should be understood that these supports do not project to an extent sufiicient to interfere with folding of the shelves when the bames are lowered to the position illustrated by broken lines 54.

As clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, the pivotal mounting of the baflles is provided by a pair of opposed pivot pins 60 journalled in the longitudinal side walls 2la of the liner. It will be noted that one of the pivot pins upon which baffle 50 is mounted extends through the liner into operative connection with the actuating shaft of a temperature control 62 which may be attached to the liner in any suitable manner, as by the angular support bracket illustrated at 63.

The temperature control may be of any desired type, an exemplary diagrammatic showing being illustrated in Fig. 3. As shown, this control includes a bellowstype power element 65 (Fig. 3) having a feeler bulb 66 attached to the evaporator in any convenient manner, as at 61, and connected in open communication with the bellows by a tube 68. The bellows system is charged with a suitable volatile liquid which expands when the evaporator temperature rises above a predetermined value, thereby exerting pressure against a spring-pressed toggle-switch actuating arm 68. The pressure so exerted moves the arm 68, against the pressure of spring 69, to the left, as illustrated in Fig. 3, to snap a movable switch arm into contact with the stationary contact element 1 I, thus closing the toggle switch.

The switch is connected in circuit with the compressor motor, indicated at T2 and a suitable power source represented at 13, as by the leads 74. Thus, when the switch is closed, the system operates to lower the temperature of the evaporator to the desired value, upon the attainment of which the pressure in the bellows decreases to an extent permitting spring 69 to move the arm 68 in the reverse direction, thereby breaking the circuit. I

It will be understood that by adjusting the tension of spring 69 the: operating cycle, or the. time during which switch 12 remains closed (and therefore the box temperature) may be increased or decreased. To this end the spring is backed by an adjustable tensioning screw-member 15, having a control shaft l6. This shaft would normally be supplied with a control knob for manual operation only, but, in particular accordance with the instant invention, the shaft I6 is operatlveiy connected to the pivot pin 60 of baflie 50, as at 11.

By turning the shaft 16 of this tensioning device, in one direction, as by moving baiiie 50 from one terminal position to another, for example counter-clockwise as viewed in Fig. l, the resistance the spring exerts against movement of switch arm 68 is increased and the period during which the switch remains closed is correspondingly decreased, since a greater bellows pressure (corresponding to a higher temperature condition) is required to overcome the pressure of the spring 69.

Conversely when the shaft is turned in a clockwise direction, as by lowering the baflie, the spring pressure is decreased and the operating cycle of the refrigerating system is correspondingly increased, to lower the temperature to that suitable for freezer chest uses.

Due to limitations inherent in refrigerating systems, the temperature range over which a system is capable of operating efficiently is comparatively short and, therefore, by causing the baffles 50 and 5| to shield the air in compartment 40 against direct contact with the walls of the evaporator portions, in addition to the direct temperature adjustment which they effect, it is possible to operate the refrigerator at a 'higher temperature than would be the case if reliance were placed upon adjustment of the temperature control alone. For this reason, the invention makes possible the maintenance of the low temperatures necessary to safely store frozen foods, while still providing freedom for operation as a conventional household refrigerator, without the sacrifice of efiiciency.

In operation of the refrigerator, when it is desired to operate at lower temperatures, it is only necessary to fold up ,the shelves and lower the baflles to their position across the bottom wall of the liner. ment rotates the temperature control in a manner to permit the refrigerating system to lower the operating temperature, and at the same time exposes the evaporator to the air in the compartment. On the other hand, when it is desired to operate the refrigerator at higher temperatures, the shelves are erected by raising the baffies, thereby providing additional area upon which foodstuffs may be placed. Raisingthe bafiles in turn, rotates the temperature control in a manner to permit evaporator temperature to rise to the desired degree. Conveniently, and as de scribed hereinabove, the higher and lower temperature conditions may be of such a value as to enable operation as either a conventional refrigerator or as a freezer chest, respectively.

In conclusion, it is evident from the foregoing that raising or lowering of the shelves, by suitably positioning the baflies, results automatically in temperature adjustments in correspondence with the desired mode of refrigerator operation. Since shelves are desirable during operation at the higher temperatures, when frequent access is hadto the contents of the refrigerator, and undesirable under cold temperature storage conditions, the simplicity and effectiveness of the device of the present invention will be apparent.

Iclaim:

1. In a refrigerator including a space adapted for use under differing conditions of operation selectively, means for cooling said space, adjusta- As will now be understood,.this moveble means for controlling the operation of said cooling means to vary the temperature within said space, and a movable baflie within said space and adapted for differing positiona1 adjustment in correspondence with the operating condition selected, said baflle further being so operatively associated with said controlling means as to vary the adjustment of said controlling means in accordance with the positional adjustment of the bailie.

2. In a refrigerator including a space adapted for use under differing conditions of operation selectively, means for cooling said space, adjustable means for controlling the operation of said cooling means. to vary the temperature within said space, a bafile within said space adapted for differing positional adjustment in correspondence with the operating condition selected, and means so interconnecting said baiiie and said controlling means as to effect variations in the adjustment of the controlling means in accordance with the position of said baflie.

3. In a refrigerator including a space adapted for use either at conventional temperatures or at relatively low storage temperatures selectively, means for cooling said space, adjustable means adapted to control the operation of said cooling means to maintain said space at the selected one of the aforesaid temperatures, a bailie within said space adapted for movement to an operative position when the refrigerator is to be operated at conventional temperatures or to a rest position upon selection of storage temperature operation, and means interconnecting said baille and said controlling means and effective to adjust said controlling means in correspondence with the baflie position selected.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 3. wherein said cooling means is within said space and said bailie is eifective in said operative position to substantially prevent contact between said cooling means and the air within said space.

5. In a refrigerator including a space to be cooled to diii'erent temperatures selectively, means for cooling said space, at least a substantial portion of said means being positioned therewithin, means for controlling the temperature of said cooling means, and movable means for regulating the contact of air within said space with said cooling means, said movable means further being so associated with said temperature control means that movements of said movable means effect variations in the temperature of said cooling means.

6. In a refrigerator including a space to be cooled to diflerent temperatures selectively, means for cooling said space, said means including an evaporator at least a portion of which is positioned within said space, temperature control means including an actuating shaft, 9. pivotally mounted baiiie adapted to regulate contact between the air within said space and said evaporator portion, said baffle further being operatively connected to the actuating shaft of said temperature control whereby pivotal movements of said baiile eflect variations in the temperature of said cooling means.

7. In a refrigerator including a compartment adapted for use under diiferent conditions of operation selectively, means for cooling said compartment, baflie means adapted for diiferent positional adjustment with respect to said cooling means in correspondence with the operating condition selected, said baiiie means being eilective to regulate the degree of contact between compartment air and said cooling means in accordance with the positional adjustment of said baflle means whereby to vary the cooling effect of said cooling means, and a shelf within said compartment movable between operative articlesupporting and rest positions, said shell and said bailie means being so operatively interconnected that said shelf is selectively disposable in said positions in accordanc with the positional adjustment of the bailie.

8. In a refrigerator including a compartment adapted for use under difie'rent'conditions of operation selectively. means for cooling said compartment, 'baflle means within said compartment adapted for different positional adjustment with respect to said cooling means in correspondence with the operating condition selected, said bailie means being effective to regulate the degree of contact between compartment air and said cooling means in accordance with the positional adjustment of said baille means whereby to vary the cooling efiect of said cooling means, and a shelf within said compartment and pivotally supported upon said baiile means for movement to article-supporting and rest positions, the pivotal support for said shelf being such that said shelf is moved to a rest position when said baflie means is in one position of adjustment and is disposed for movement to an article-supporting position when said baflie means is in another position of adjustment.

9. In a refrigerator including a compartment adapted for use either at conventional refrigeration temperatures or at relatively low storage temperatures selectively, means for cooling said compartment, baifle means within said compartment and adapted for movement to either of two terminal positions in accordance with the selected temperature condition, said bailie means being effective to reduce the degree of contact between compartment air and said cooling means when said baflie means is moved to one of said terminal positions, said baiile means permitting free access of compartment air to said coolingmeans when the baiile means is in the other of said terminal pcsitions, and a shelf movable between operative article-supporting and rest positions, said shelf and said bailie means being so operatively interconnected that said shelf is moved to its rest position in response to movement of said baflle means to said other terminal position.

10. In a refrigerator including a compartment adapted for use under different conditions of operation selectively, means for cooling said compartment, adjustable means for controlling the operation of said cooling means to vary the temperature within said compartment, and a shelf within said compartment and selectively disposable in diflerent positions in accordance with the operating condition selected, said shelf being linked to said controlling means and effective to var the adjustment of the latter in response to variations in the position of said shelf.

FRANK D. PEL'IIER.

nsmnsnoas orrnn The following references are of record in the ills of this patent:

2,324,527 Morrison July 20, 1943 

